Map of 17th-century Wexford. Cromwell's men camped to the southwest.Wexford Pikeman Statue by Oliver Sheppard in memory of the 1798 rebellion
The town was founded by the Vikings in about 800 AD. They named it Veisafjǫrðr, meaning "inlet of the mudflats", and the name has changed only slightly into its present form. According to a story recorded in the Dindsenchas, the name "Loch Garman" comes from a man named Garman mac Bomma Licce who was chased to the river mouth and drowned as a consequence of stealing the queen's crown from Temair during the feast of Samhain.
Wexford was an Old English settlement in the Medieval Period. An Anglic language, known as Yola, was commonly spoken in south Wexford until it began declining in the mid-19th century. However, Yola was not officially extinct until the 1998 death of the last speaker, a local fisherman from Kilmore Quay named Jack Devereux.[3] The Yola name for Wexford was Weiseforthe.[4]
Following the Crusades, the Knights Templar had a presence in Wexford. Up to the present, their name is perpetuated in the old Knights' Templars' chapel yard of St. John's Cemetery, on Wexford's Upper St. John's Street. Wexford received its first charter in 1318.[5]
Wexford's early- and mid- 18th-century history is less frequently remembered than later periods, however, the impact of this period is evident from the architectural fabric of the town such as the gabled Dutch Billy houses such as on Main Street.[6][7]
Wexford Opera House, now the National Opera House, amongst other buildingsPresident John F. Kennedy visiting the John Barry Memorial at Crescent Quay, Wexford town, Ireland (27 June 1963)
Wexford hosts the Wexford Opera Festival every October. Started by Dr Tom Walsh in 1951, the festival has since grown and a fireworks display is sometimes held in conjunction with the annual festival.[9]
Wexford has a number of music and drama venues including:
the Dun Mhuire Theatre, which holds community theatre events including music events and hosting shows by Oyster Lane Theatre Group and Wexford Pantomime Society;
Wexford Arts Centre, which hosts exhibitions, theatre, music and dance events;
Wexford is the home of several youth and senior theatre groups, including the Buí Bolg Street Theatre Company, Oyster Lane Theatre Group, Wexford Pantomime Society, Wexford Light Opera Society and Wexford Drama Group.
The National LotterySkyfest was held in Wexford in March 2011 and included a pyrotechnic waterfall on the town's main bridge spanning 300m.[10] Buí Bolg also performed on the night.[10]
Until the mid-nineteenth century, the Yola language could be heard in Wexford, and some words, phrases and place names are still used in the locality, particularly in the baronies of southern Wexford.[11]
Architecture
Notable churches within the town include the "twin churches", Bride Street and Rowe Street with their distinctive spires; St. IberiusChurch of Ireland, which dates from the 18th Century; Saint Peter's College, with a chapel designed by Augustus Welby Pugin; and Ann Street Presbyterian church. A former Quaker meeting hall is now a band room in High Street. The twin churches can be seen from any part of Wexford and in 2008, their 150th anniversary was celebrated. The larger twin, on Rowe Street, contains a peal of ten change-ringing bells, cast by Gillett & Johnston in 1930.[12]
In the early 21st century, Wexford saw the redevelopment of its quay front,[citation needed] and residential development at Clonard village.[13] Also, the relocated offices of the Department of Environment were constructed near Wexford General Hospital on Newtown Road and opened in 2010.[14]
Economy
Wexford's success as a seaport declined in the first half of the 20th century because of the constantly changing sands of Wexford Harbour.[15] By 1968 it had become unprofitable to keep dredging a channel from the harbour mouth to the quays in order to accommodate the larger ships of the era, so the port closed. The port had been extremely important to the local economy, with coal being a major import and agricultural machinery and grain being exported. The woodworks which fronted the quays and which were synonymous with Wexford were removed in the 1990s as part of a plan to claim the quay as an amenity for the town as well as retaining it as a commercially viable waterfront.
In the early 20th century, a new port was built about 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the south at Rosslare Harbour, now known as Rosslare Europort. This is a deepwater harbour, unaffected by tides and currents. All major shipping now uses this port and Wexford Port is used only by fishing boats and leisure vessels.
Major private-sector employers in and around the town include Wexford Creamery, Celtic Linen, Wexford Viking Glass, Parker Hannifin IPDE, Waters Technology, Kent Stainless, Equifax and BNY Mellon.[citation needed]Coca-Cola operates a research plant employing up to 160.[16] Eishtec, which was acquired by Infosys in 2019,[17] operates a call center in Wexford.[18] Pamela Scott, A-wear and other retailers operate in the town. Public sector employers include Wexford County Council and Wexford General Hospital.
The Irish National Heritage Park at Ferrycarrig includes various exhibits spanning 9000 years of Irish history, allowing the visitor to wander around re-creations of historic Irish dwellings including crannogs, Viking houses and Norman forts.[20] The grounds also feature the archaeological site of Newtown, considered the first Norman fortification in Ireland.[21]
The Wexford Wildfowl Reserve is a Ramsar site based on mudflats, (known locally as slobland), just outside Wexford.[22] It is a migratory stop-off point for thousands of ducks, geese, swans and waders. Up to 12,000 (50% of the world's population) of Greenland white-fronted geese spend the winter on the Wexford slobs. There is a visitor centre with exhibitions and an audio-visual show.[23]
Wexford is also served by local and national bus networks, primarily Bus Éireann, Wexford Bus and Ardcavan Bus. There are direct bus routes to Dublin, Carlow and Waterford.[26] There are also many local taxi and hackney providers. Wexford Bus also operates a shuttle bus service which has stops at the town's main facilities.
The closest airport to Wexford is Waterford Airport which is approximately one hour away (70 km), but is not served by commercial flights.[27]Dublin Airport is the closest airport to Wexford which operates commercial flights, which is approximately two hours away.
Wexford panorama
Sport
Association football
Wexford Football Club was admitted to the League of Ireland in 2007, and was the first Wexford-based club to take part in the competition. The club was the brainchild of former property developer and politician Mick Wallace, who funded the construction of a complex for the new team's home at Newcastle, Ferrycarrig. In 2015, the team won the League of Ireland First Division. The club launched Wexford Youths WFC, a Women's National League team, in 2011. A new team, Yola FC, was proposed in 2020 but was refused a license by the FAI.[28]
Gaelic football
Wexford is also home to several Gaelic Athletic Association clubs. Though the town was traditionally associated with Gaelic football, with six teams providing ample outlets for its youngsters, it was not until 1960 that hurling took its foothold, with much due to local man Oliver "Hopper" McGrath's contribution to the county's All-Ireland Hurling Final triumph over the then-champions Tipperary. Having scored an early second-half goal to effectively kill off the opposition, McGrath went on to be the first man from the town of Wexford to receive an All-Ireland Hurling winner's medal.
Although the team has not achieved county senior football success since 1956, St. Johns Volunteers of Wexford Town hold a record eleven county senior titles, as well as six minor titles. Other notable Gaelic football clubs in the town are Sarsfields, St. Mary's of Maudlintown, Clonard and St. Joseph's.
Hurling
One of the town's local hurling clubs, Faythe Harriers, holds a record fifteen county minor championships, having dominated the minor hurling scene in the 1950s, late 1960s and early 1970s. The senior side has also won five Wexford Senior Hurling Championships.
Other sports
Wexford Golf Club's clubhouse and course were finished in 2006 and 2007 respectively.[citation needed]
Ireland's former boxing head coach and Olympian Billy Walsh is a native of Wexford town and has been involved in the training of underage level boxers with local club St. Ibars/Joseph's.[citation needed]
Education
There are five secondary schools serving the population of the town. These are Wexford CBS, Loreto Secondary School (girls' school); St Peter's College (boys' school); Presentation Secondary School (girls' school); and The Vocational College/Selskar College (mixed school).
On 1 June 2014, the borough council was dissolved and the administration of the town was amalgamated with Wexford County Council.[36][37] The local electoral area of Wexford forms the borough district of Wexford, as the town retains the right to be described as a borough.[38][39] The chair of the borough district uses the title of mayor, rather than Cathaoirleach.[40]
^Wexford Borough Boundary Alteration (Supplementary) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 819 of 2007). Signed on 18 December 2007 by John Gormley, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 28 November 2022.
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